Please note: Due to alternative arrangements for teaching and
assessment in place from 18 March 2020 to mitigate against the restrictions in
place due to COVID-19, information shown for 2019/20 may not always be accurate.
Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information
for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Design Methods 2 |
| Unit code |
CENG20016 |
| Credit points |
10 |
| Level of study |
I/5
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Morgan |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
Design Project 1 (CENG10008)
|
| Co-requisites |
Design Project 2 (CENG20015)
|
| School/department |
Department of Civil Engineering |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Engineering |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit introduces students to:
- The conceptual design process and design methods, tools and techniques
- The nature of design and ‘design thinking’ in a socio-cultural and global context
- Fixation in design
- Design innovation and creativity using frame creation
- Human-centred design, design for X, user research and empathic design tools
- Rapid ideation, realisation and prototyping for creative products, process and services
- Working as part of a creative design team and the nature of learning to design
Using human-centred design exercises and studies, the aims of the unit are to enable students to:
- Understand and evaluate user needs through research, including considerations such as socio-cultural issues and aesthetics
- Discover and define problems to develop a design brief and design specification
- Manage the conceptual design process and evaluate outcomes
- Communicate design work to a non-technical audience
- Demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of design process, methods and tools with the ability to apply them in a range of situations
- Demonstrate the ability to generate innovative conceptual designs for products, systems, services and processes
- Engage with and reflect upon the open, complex, networked, and dynamic problems of modern society
Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
- Manage the design process within the freedoms and constraints of a real-world problem
- Use a variety of design methods, tools, and frameworks to create an innovative design concept
- Use prototyping tools, user feedback and role play to evaluate design concepts
- Critically review and reflect upon the use of different design methods, tools, and frameworks
- Use visual and verbal literacy to communicate design information by written report and oral presentation
Appreciate and reflect upon the nature of design and the human-centred design process
Teaching Information
Classes will involve a combination of lectures, group workshops, design reviews and presentations. Students will be expected to engage with research and readings in preparation for timetabled classes, participating on a weekly basis. Students will work in assigned groups of 4-5 throughout the unit
Assessment Information
Formative assessment:
TB1: Group design review and reflection on user research, problem definition, and requirements setting (ILO 1, 2, 4, 5)
TB2: Group design review and reflection on concept generation and down-selection, user feedback and prototyping (ILO 1 - 5)
Summative assessment:
TB1: Individual written literature review on conceptual design methods, tools and frameworks (40%)
TB2:
- Individual written reflection report (30%)
- Group presentation critically reviewing and reflecting upon group use of design methods, tools and frameworks, using group design work completed throughout the unit as an illustrative case study (30%)
(ILO 1 -6)
Total: 100% coursework
Reading and References
- K. Dorst, Frame Innovation, MIT Press, 2016 (TM has a reference copy)
- N. Cross, Engineering Design Methods, Springer (various editions in library, TA174)
- N. Cross, Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work, Berg, 2011
